


Escaping The Tube

by stardazed_daydreams



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half Life VR But The AI Is Self-Aware
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe- Not A Game, Clones, Creature Benrey, Gordon Has An Anxiety Disorder, Government Conspiracy, Guns, Half-Life VR But the AI is Self-Aware, Human Experimentation, M/M, Medical Trauma, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rescue Missions, Shapeshifting, Unethical Experimentation, they/himrey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:47:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25772326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardazed_daydreams/pseuds/stardazed_daydreams
Summary: Gordon Freeman is a normal scientist with a normal life. He has a good life: a son he adores, an amicable relationship with his ex, and a steady job at one of the most renowned facilities in the world.Sure, there are countless experiments that he "doesn't have the clearance" to know about, and rumors about Black Mesa have been flying around for decades- aliens and crop circles and human experiments- but those are just local legends, nothing of substance to support them.What's the worst that could happen?
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman, Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Science Team - Relationship
Comments: 18
Kudos: 76





	Escaping The Tube

_Beep. Beep. Beep_. 

Gordon Freeman rolls over in bed and picks up his phone, slamming the ‘stop’ button on his alarm. He frowns, rubbing his eyes and sitting up in bed. Today was his day off, why… _guess I forgot to turn off my alarm_ . He slides on his glasses, swinging his legs off the side of his bed and standing up. _Well. I’m awake now._

He shuffles into the kitchen, grumbling to himself as he starts a pot of coffee and grabs a box of cereal from the cupboard, pouring himself a bowl while he waits for it to brew. 

He glances outside. It’s pretty enough, the sun shining brightly, and a quick glance at the weather forecast tells him it’s going to be warm. He scoops the last of the cereal into his mouth as the coffee machine beeps, signaling that the pot is ready. He rinses his bowl and grabs himself a travel mug for his coffee. 

It’s a good morning for a walk. 

…

Gordon heads to the local park. It’s got a playground that he likes to bring Joshua to, lots of space to have picnics or run around, and a small forest behind it, with a few trails. Gordon has a backpack on, his book, travel mug, and emergency first-aid supplies packed into it, and he heads onto one of those trails. Distantly, he can see the huge building that makes up the uppermost level of Black Mesa between the trees, and he sighs to himself at the reminder. Work. He has to stop thinking about that all the time- stressing constantly won’t help anything, high-risk science experiment or not. He shakes his head and focuses back on the trail ahead, taking a swig from his travel mug. 

He’s so caught up in thought that he doesn’t notice the rustling coming from the woods until too late. 

Leaping out from the trees is a creature looking like something between a wolf and a housecat and the size of a german shepherd. It has thick, black fur, a long tail, and sharp claws that dig into the dirt trail. It’s eyes are solid yellow, and strange, off-white pupils land on Gordon, dilating in fear. Its ears are flat against its head. 

Gordon drops his travel mug in shock. The creature hisses, a loud, grating sound, and digs its claws in more, leaving small trenches in their wake. _Oh shit._ Gordon doesn’t know what to do here. He can’t exactly just leave it for one of the kids from the playground to find, right? Maybe he can call the animal shelter. His hand inches towards his pocket, and the creature makes a yowling sound. He freezes, heart pounding in his chest. Shit. Okay. He raises his hands non-threateningly and takes a slow, hesitant step forward.

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you,” he soothes. The creature hisses again, tail lashing, and he stops. “... what _are_ you?” He whispers.

The creature growls, hackles raised, and flashes long fangs at Gordon. Yeah, okay, he gets the message. Gordon sits criss-cross, still keeping his hands raised in clear submission, and looks to the ground by the creature’s paws. 

For several minutes, he sits completely still, breathing as shallowly as he can manage, not wanting to startle the beast at all. 

Finally, agonizingly slow, it takes a few steps forward, sniffing at Gordon's head. Gordon tenses, fear lacing down his spine as its hot breath puffs on the back of his neck. The beast sits back on its haunches, making a rumbling sound Gordon hopes is approval and not hunger. 

Slowly, he lifts his head, looking at the creature in its strange yellow eyes. “... good boy?” He tries. It somehow manages to look completely unimpressed, and he bites back a laugh, slowly extending a hand. When it doesn’t growl or run, he gently runs his hand along it’s snout. The fur is soft, and the creature ducks its head, so Gordon scratches behind its ears. A foot starts thumping against the concrete and its tail starts wagging, and Gordon can’t hold back, bringing his other hand into the mix as he scratches down the creature’s side. It flops, rolling to expose its belly, and he gives it aggressive belly rubs. 

“Do you have an owner?” He asks. The creature doesn’t respond- _obviously, why would it_ \- but it does roll back to its feet, looking at Gordon expectantly. “Guess I’m taking you home with me, huh.” Almost as if it understands him, the creature starts wagging its tail again. He laughs. “Uh, okay. I don’t have a leash or anything, so I guess you’ll just have to- follow me?” The creature tilts its head almost thoughtfully, and in the blink of an eye, it shrinks. 

Gordon gapes as it jumps up onto his shoulder and drops into the breast pocket of his shirt, looking up at him expectantly. 

_What did I just get myself into?_

...

Gordon probably should have thought this through a little more. He’s always considered himself smart- he got his PHD, and that’s not fucking easy, thank you very much- but he might have just proved himself wrong, to be honest. What the fuck possesed him to pick up a completely unknown creature with the ability to shapeshift and bring it to his apartment? 

Sitting in a chair at the kitchen table, Gordon rests his chin on his hands and stares at the now roughly housecat-sized creature. He’s placed an assortment of random food on the table- some ground beef (raw), an apple, and a block of cheese (he’s a theoretical physicist, not a biologist, okay?) - but it didn't seem interested in any of them. 

… Maybe it’d prefer the ground beef cooked? Gordon reached for the plate with the intent to test that theory, but he quickly snatches his hand back when he realizes the creature has shapeshifted again. 

They are no longer a creature. 

They’re more like a human, or something close to it- still the size of a cat and, bizarrely, dressed in a Black Mesa Security uniform. They huff, frowning, and Gordon watches in horror and amazement as they grow to the size of a human adult. At this size, he can more easily see the things that make them just short of human- their teeth are too sharp, their fingernails more closely resemble claws, and their skin is tinged blue. 

They grin, and a shiver slices down Gordon’s spine. “sick, bro, thanks for helping,” they say. “you got any uhhhhhh taco bell?” 

Gordon leaps out of his chair, scrambling back so fast that his chair falls over, hitting the ground with a loud _thunk._ _I gotta call the police,_ he thinks, then, _fuck, the police aren’t gonna fucking believe me, they’re a shapeshifter- I have to call work!_

They look down at his uniform, then back up at Gordon. “don’t call black mesa!” They blurt, and Gordon pauses. “... please.” 

Gordon’s thumb hovers over their contact. “Why shouldn’t I?” He demands, heart racing. 

They hesitate for a moment, chewing on their lip. “um.” They unzip the bulletproof vest, then loosen their tie and unbutton the shirt underneath. Gordon is frozen, torn between confusion and anticipation. _What the fuck?_

He pulls open their shirt, avoiding Gordon’s gaze, and his jaw drops. A thick, nasty-looking scar mars their chest, a huge Y-shape from their collarbone to his stomach. Gordon’s mouth is suddenly dry, and he swallows while they fix their clothes, only speaking again when he’s completely recovered. “yeah, i dont really- want to go back, haha…” they trail off, shuffling their feet. 

Gordon blinks rapidly as this new information settles in his brain. 

… Okay. 

Gordon knew they were doing some… questionable things in the deeper levels of Black Mesa. He’d never been privy to them, himself- he didn’t have the security clearance and he wasn’t a biologist- but he’d worked there long enough to hear whispers. Aliens. Scooping kids off the streets and out of orphanages in order to test on them. Genetic engineering. But he’d brushed them all off as rumors, similar to Area 51 nonsense. (Well, not all of them. After all, if Black Mesa could get their hands on an alien crystal, then why not an alien creature? But he never had considered that they’d experiment on anything _sentient._ And this thing… person?... was definitely sentient.) 

“yo you trying to start a fire over there?” they ask.

“What?” Gordon shakes his head. 

“thinkin’ too hard, bro,” he says, rolling their eyes. 

Gordon looks down at the phone in his hand and hesitates for a long moment. He puts it in his pocket. “So… what do you need? To like…” Gordon trails off, but they just look at him expectantly. “... Live.”

“food, duh,” he says, rapping his knuckles on his helmet. “uh that’s pretty much it.” 

“That’s it?” Gordon echoes, frowning.

“yeah bro i don’t need sleep or like. uhhh anything like that so i guess food and maybe something to drink sometimes and i’ll be fine. got taco bell?” they repeat, and Gordon thinks that over. 

“I mean, yeah, we can get taco bell, I guess,” he says, and they light up like a kid on christmas.

“broooo, for real? sick.” 

“Okay, okay, two things first,” Gordon says, holding up a hand. “One: you absolutely cannot go wandering around in that uniform.” The person frowns, looking down and messing with the zipper on his vest, but doesn’t argue. “Two: do you have, like… a name?” 

“ _do you have like a name nyeeeeh,_ ” they mock in a surprisingly accurate copy of Gordon’s voice, “of course I have a name bro. duh.” 

“What is it?” Gordon asks, more than a little annoyed at this point. 

“...” they look down at their chest. The nametag on his chest is blurry. “uhhh. benrey,” they say, and Gordon watches in fascination as the name tag changes to read ‘BENRYBENRYBENRY’ in blocky print. So he can shapeshift clothes, too? That’s… fascinating, actually. Gordon can understand the impulse to study them. 

He catches a glimpse of that Y-shaped scar peeking out of his shirt and winces a little internally. Reel it in, Gordon, thoughts like these are why he’s in this situation. 

“Okay, Benrey,” Gordon says. “I think I have some clothes you can wear. Follow me.” Benrey hesitates a half-second before trailing Gordon to his bedroom. Gordon flings open his closet and goes through his options. Okay… hm. He pulls out a sweater, a plain shirt, and some jeans, then backs up. “That should work,” he says, eyeing them. “If you need anything else come get me.” He turns to leave the room, jumping when they catch him by the wrist. “Hey, what gives-” He stops short at the look in his eyes.

Benrey’s eyes are still yellow, with red irises, and filled with fear. “um.” he swallows. “don’t go, please? bro?” They release Gordon’s wrist, picking up the shirt and holding it to his chest. “or, uh, do, haha…” 

Gordon lowers his arm. They seem… terrified. He can’t leave him alone like this and not feel horribly guilty. “Okay, dude,” he says. “I’ll just, uh, face the wall.” 

“haha i mean okay if you want to stalker,” Benrey says, visibly relieved. “just dont uhhhh peep. peeping is rude. if ya wanna look at his hot bod you just have to ask lmao.” 

“I won’t look,” Gordons says, rolling his eyes as he turns to face the wall. There’s the heavy thump of the bulletproof vest hitting the ground, and some more rustling, and Gordon is faced with the very real urge to peep. He wasn’t expecting it, but he’s curious! And it’s not like Benrey’s getting naked…

He risks a glance, as much as he can without fully turning his head around. He only catches a glimpse of Benrey’s back, but it’s enough. There are more scars, long and thin, all suspiciously medical in appearance. Gordon keeps his gaze firmly pinned on the wall in front of him and doesn’t turn around again until Benrey mumbles “im a great cool, we’re good.” 

He looks almost… normal. The sleeves of Gordon’s sweater are pulled down over his hands like paws, and he fiddles with a loose string on the hem. They’re still wearing combat boots, but the jeans are tucked into them and it doesn’t look weird. At a glance, nobody would suspect anything. Gordon realizes he’s staring and drags his gaze up to Benrey’s face. 

The illusion is shattered by the metal helmet they’re still wearing. Gordon frowns, and they avoid his gaze. “You can’t keep that on, man,” he says, and Benrey’s hands fly up to clamp the helmet down on his head, as if preparing for Gordon to just try to rip it off. 

“uhh don’t want to take it off,” they say. “don’t make me please?” 

Gordon tugs on a strand of his hair. “I mean, you can’t keep it on, man, it’s obvious. It’ll make people look at you twice, and that’s all Black Mesa needs.” It’s true. Black Mesa is government-funded, and has eyes _everywhere_. One misstep could mean Benrey getting snatched right back into their claws, or worse. Benrey raps against the helmet a few more times, and Gordon hums. “Okay. Hold on.” Turning back to his closet, he rummages around until he pulls out a box labeled STIM TOYS.

He pulls out a fidget spinner and hands it to Benrey. “There, try that. Just, uh, hold it between two fingers and spin it.” 

Benrey looks from Gordon to the stim toy, frowning, but does as he says. “... oh.” they sit on the floor, gaze pinned on the spinner, and spin it a few more times. 

Gordon smiles. “Great, I thought you’d like it.” He picks up the box and puts it back in the closet, as well as grabbing a beanie. “Here.” 

Benrey looks up, taking the beanie from Gordon. He hesitates, and after a second, pulls off the helmet and rapidly replaces it with the beanie. Gordon catches just a flash of short, black hair, before it’s hidden again, just some sideburns and a few curls peeking out from the beanie and falling into their eyes. 

_Oh, that’s kind of cute_. Gordon shakes his head and offers his hand, palm-up. “Let’s go get you some taco bell, yeah?” 

...

Benrey is bouncing in the passenger seat of Gordon’s car like a child on christmas. Gordon pulls up to the menu and spends way too much fucking money getting almost everything because Benrey looks at Gordon and says “i’ve never had real human food before” and Gordon just CAN’T SAY NO TO THAT.

Gordon starts the drive back home, watching out of the corner of his eye as Benrey tears into a burrito. His sharp teeth tear into the tortilla with ease, and Gordon suppresses a shiver. Those are the teeth of a carnivore, he knows, and this carnivore has been caged for far too long. He’s lucky they aren’t tearing out his throat. 

“hey, watch the road, dumbass,” benrey says, and oh shit, when did he start staring? 

Gordon jerks his eyes back to the road. “Sorry, lost in thought.” 

“thinking about me? haha gayass.” Benrey tears into a hot sauce packet and an unnaturally long tongue slinks out of his mouth to wrap around his fingers, licking the excess off. _Jesus, how inhuman_ **_is_ ** _this guy?_

Gordon remembers the snarling creature he’d stumbled upon in the woods and feels dumb for thinking that. “So,” he says as they hit a stoplight. “Are you normally more, uh, like the creature, or more like this?” 

Benrey pauses in the middle of devouring a steak quesadilla. “hm.” he swallows and ponders it. “dunno. more like this, i guess. but uhhh. less stealthy.” 

Gordon doesn’t press on what that means. He’s just glad to be getting answers. “How long have you been in Black Mesa?” He asks. 

They stare at the quesadilla, their claws ripping into the tortilla. “... long time,” they say. “big sucks.” 

Gordon isn’t sure how to respond to that. The light turns green, and he starts driving again. A long time? How long? A few months? A few _years_? His whole life? 

_I’ve never had real human food before._

Gordon’s heart is racing in his chest and his fingers rap an uncertain beat against the steering wheel. “Benrey?” 

“huh?” 

Gordon wants desperately to close his eyes, but instead he keeps them trained on the road ahead of him. “Was there…” he stops. Clears his throat. 

_Do you even want to know the answer to this question, Gordon?_

_… I have to know. I_ **_have_ ** _to._

“Was there anyone… else… that they were doing experiments on, Benrey?” 

“oh.” Benrey shoves the rest of the quesadilla in his mouth and swallows it almost whole. “... yeah. my friends. i couldn’t get them out.”

Gordon pulls into his parking lot and kills the engine. For a moment, they both just sit there, Benrey’s words hanging heavy in the air. 

“Where are they, Benrey? Do you know?” 

“yeah, bro. biological research.” Benrey kills the last of his taco bell and picks the spinner back up, flicking it nervously. “... uh. their names are tommy. and bubby.” 

“Biological research…” Gordon tugs on a strand of his hair nervously. “God, I can’t believe I’m saying this.” He takes a deep breath and twists to look at Benrey. “I’m getting your friends out of Black Mesa.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I HAVE A DISEASE THAT MAKES ME START NONSTOP WIPS IT'S CALLED BEING A FUCKING GENIUS. 
> 
> as always no beta reader dshfjhdgkjs
> 
> please leave a kudos/comment if you enjoyed!!


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